Video: Doctors successfully separate conjoined twins

Regina and Renata Salinas Fierros were joined from the chest to the pelvis when they were born last August. They were fused in several places, including the liver and genitals, they shared a large intestine, and Regina was born with one kidney.

Doctors in Los Angeles began the complex operation to separate their organs and then rebuild them.

The twins are today recovering in intensive care at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Janet Dotson said: "The girls are doing great."

Before yesterday's operation, the twins' mother Sonia Fierros, who was today at their bedside, said: "It's strange to see the girls together, and it will be even stranger to see them apart. But I think for us it's going to be more normal to see them separated than to keep on seeing them joined."